aka Il racconto dei racconti
2016 #148
Matteo Garrone | 134 mins | streaming (HD) | 2.35:1 | Italy, France & UK / English | 15 / R
Matteo Garrone | 134 mins | streaming (HD) | 2.35:1 | Italy, France & UK / English | 15 / R
Based on 17th Century Italian fairytales by Giambattista Basile, Tale of Tales relates three interlocking stories of dark fantasy. If there’s one thing that really connects them, it’s thematic: essentially, “be careful what you wish for”; or maybe “be grateful for what you’ve got”. There are primary characters in each tale who go to disgustingly extraordinary lengths to achieve what they desire — eating a sea-monster’s heart raw, breeding a giant flea, self-flaying — and it rarely turns out for the best.
If you can stomach the contents, there’s a quality cast, and the locations, production design, and cinematography are simply gorgeous.
100Films.co.uk 
I agree. I simply loved this film. Gorgeous cinematography and fascinating, imaginative plots. It’s a pity they made the ending where the princess and the ogre battle so comical.
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The whole thing’s so magnificently odd that I don’t remember finding that part tonally inconsistent. But it’s been a few months since I watched it, so my recollection isn’t 100%!
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I really want to watch this, ever since I first heard of it, it seems to be a must-watch. Not got around to it yet. Shame on me.
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Well, you’re talking to the guy who hasn’t got round to Drive, Moon, or District 9 yet, so it’s all relative!
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cool, i’ve been dying to see this one
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It’s certainly worth finding the time for. Probably a bit slow in places, I’d say, but on the whole it definitely delivers on expectations.
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Strange little film, quite unlike anything I’ve seen with perhaps the likes of EXCALIBUR and PAN’S LABYRINTH for creating such dreamlike filmscapes coming close. It certainly looks amazing and there are definitely some wince-worthy moments, proving that while the book upon which it was based was ‘for the little ones’ there isn’t a lot in the story that is anything but adult themed and even grotesque in places. I admit I was spellbound.
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Dreamlike is a good word for it. They certainly embraced the fantastical / fairytale aspect of it in the visuals, which I think are its strongest element.
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Christ, I STILL haven’t seen this yet! (scurries off to see if the Blu-ray has dropped in price yet to something like a casual purchase…)
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